AR AR - Malvern, WhtMale 1415UMAR, 25-35, hitchhiker in submerged car, p/u Louisville, Oct'84

[EmiliaRT007]

Lol I even wrote here 7 years ago that he looks like a Craig. Which I stand by. Not sure if I think he's that Craig though. JMO.

He’s 100% a Craig.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Lol I even wrote here 7 years ago that he looks like a Craig. Which I stand by. Not sure if I think he's that Craig though. JMO.

I think the facial hair being different distorts it a bit. And the angle too. Look at the noses. They’re quite similar. They’ve got the same face shape too.

 

[ProductiveOne]

Craig Steven Chiarappa was just excluded. I was certain that it was him, but that is not the case.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Aww shucks! I was certain Craig was our guy too. He still looks like a Craig to me. Or a Keith for some reason.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Just well who could he possibly be? It’s been 38 years since he was found. We’re getting closer. So many exclusions already. We’ll know who he is soon hopefully.

 

[DS2021]

 

[ExitNow]

Cases submitted to NamUs, and all investigating agencies.

Craig Steven Chiarappa of Middlefield, CT left a VA Hospital in Newington, CT on April 11, 1976. According to his family (article), it was not unusual for him to travel about the country.

On Oct 18, 1984, a driver enroute to Houston, TX picked up an unidentified hitch hiker in Louisville, Kentucky. After arriving in Arkansas, the driver became tired, and allowed the unidentified to continue to drive. *Presumably*, the unidentified falls asleep at the wheel, and drives the vehicle in a body of water. The unidentified dies two days later after having been submerged in water for 15-30 minutes. The police suspect that the unidentified is "possibly from New Haven, Connecticut traveling to California at the time."

New Haven, CT is ~16 miles away from Craig Steven Chiarappa's home (Middlefield, CT). The two are exactly the same height, and weight. Their descriptions match, and so do their faces when you account for Craig Steven Chiarappa's facial expression. Craig is said to sometimes have a "beard/goatee." If the unidentified is Craig, I believe he is of Italian decent.

View attachment 420328


Craig Steven Chiarappa
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
CT - CT - Craig Steven Chiarappa, 23, Middlefield, 11 Apr 1976

Malvern, AR Unidentified (NamUs #UP3123)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The similarities are facinating. Was he a match?

 

[ExitNow]

View attachment 541609

I submitted a request to have 3 MP ruled out.

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/42650/Images/71752/Original

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/13846/Images/25839/Original

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/42609/Images/152311/Original

The facial structure looks so much alike for Craig Chiarappa. It was disappointing to read that.
The names I sent for rule out are Steven P Delgado MP42650, Jackson Wade Orvin MP13846, and Robert Reeves Jr MP42609. My strongest thought though is Steven Delgado. NamUs posted an actual photo of him out of uniform and it literally looks like UP.

 

[ExitNow]

View attachment 541609

I submitted a request to have 3 MP ruled out.

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/42650/Images/71752/Original

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/13846/Images/25839/Original

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/42609/Images/152311/Original

The facial structure looks so much alike for Craig Chiarappa. It was disappointing to read that.
The names I sent for rule out are Steven P Delgado MP42650, Jackson Wade Orvin MP13846, and Robert Reeves Jr MP42609. My strongest thought though is Steven Delgado. NamUs posted an actual photo of him out of uniform and it literally looks like UP.

 

[JSolt1210]

Okay gang, my wife went to the main branch of CALS (Central Arkansas Library System) for other research but popped over to the microfiche to see if she could find anything from Malvern.

She's found two articles. She didn't print any of this bit but there was a huge nasty storm rolling across the state the two days before. Something like 14 tornado touchdowns from the system across multiple states.

So they went into Ten Mile Creek just south of Benton and she was flooded and raging. Apparently there was just bedlam all across the state so not a lot of time an attention placed on a car accident. Saline County arrived on the scene at 03:31 am, so they didn't stop at Browns, the only places open 24 hours along I-30 back then was Waffle House. The breakfast stop is not listed. The survivor is never mentioned.

I'll get a map marker up in a little bit.

These should be pretty easy to read as is, I'll try to get them transcribed later.

View attachment 325011
Arkansas Democrat 10/20/1984 1C
View attachment 325012
Arkansas Democrat 10/19/1984 - 1B

Not sure I'm adding anything new here, but I think these articles (reasonably) clear up at least one question for me: why the surviving man was able to get out but the hitchhiker didn't.

Some have speculated that the hitchhiker fell asleep at the wheel or even that he intended to end his own life. But according to the articles, police arrived at the scene around 3:30 am and estimated the hitchhiker had been under water for about half an hour. This means the incident took place around 3 am.

Maybe it was simply too dark for the hitchhiker to see clearly. This particular stretch of the highway might not have been well lit, or the recent storms might've knocked out power which hadn't yet been restored. In the darkness, he could've lost sight of the road, missed a turn, and driven into the creek.

This could also explain why there are no more details—the survivor simply couldn't see well enough to provide them. He probably got out by feeling for the door, but it was too dark for him to see if the hitchhiker was still conscious, struggling, needing help, or stuck in his seat somehow. Or if he didn't hear anything, he might've assumed the hitchhiker had already gotten out.

 

[Cagle]

I submitted a request to have 3 MP ruled out.

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/42650/Images/71752/Original

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/13846/Images/25839/Original

https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/42609/Images/152311/Original

The facial structure looks so much alike for Craig Chiarappa. It was disappointing to read that.
The names I sent for rule out are Steven P Delgado MP42650, Jackson Wade Orvin MP13846, and Robert Reeves Jr MP42609. My strongest thought though is Steven Delgado. NamUs posted an actual photo of him out of uniform and it literally looks like UP.

That Steven Delgado definitely looks like him!

 

[ExitNow]

It seems this has progressively moved slowly. I appreciate this forum. Very insightful. I have attempted to submit a potential match on Doenetwork but the person I believe lines up and could be a strong potential match does not have a profile.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Steven P Delgado disappeared 6 weeks before this guy passed. Additionally, he has connections to the east coast, hitchhiked, and fits physical description. The post-mortem photo also shows similarities.